Director: Leonard Buczkowski / Cast: Boleslaw Szczurkiewicz, Irena Gawecka, Aleksander Starza / Release Date: 1928 / Poland / Length: 140’ / Presentation: Anna Sienkiewicz-Rogowska / Musicians: Stephen Horne – piano, Frank Bockius – drum
Hailed after its premiere as “a great leap forward for Polish cinema”, Daredevils is an exceptional film not only for its time but also in the film history. The film focuses on three friends who march with the Polish Legions during the First World War. With a high budget and grand-scale production design, Daredevils is considered to be Poland’s first blockbuster film. Making use of innovative special effects, the film captivated the audiences of the time with great number of military units and grandiose reconstructions of some notable battle scenes. Representing the war in all its horror and tremor, the film is also an interesting document of latest advancements in military technology of the time as well as period weapons. This fresh restoration by Polish National Film Archive only premiered in September this year in its homeland. The film will meet audiences in Turkey the first time in Istanbul Silent Film Days.